In 2001, the census recorded that 25% of the population of the borough was from an ethnic minority. The highest ethnic populations were recorded in wards in the east of the borough (Mitcham, Eastfields and Pollards Hill). The percentage of population from ethnic minorities is predicted to rise across the borough within the next decade.

The house is made up of four floors ? a basement which houses the kitchen, the ground floor which was the Carlyles' parlour, the first floor where the drawing room/library and Jane's bedroom are found, the second floor which was Thomas' bedroom and is now the Custodian's residence, and the attic, which was converted into a study in an attempt to remove Carlyle from the constant noise of the street and neighbours. It has a small walled garden which is preserved much as it was when Thomas and Jane lived there ? the fig tree still produces fruit today.

Chelsea was once famous for the manufacture of Chelsea buns (made from a long strip of sweet dough tightly coiled, with currants trapped between the layers, and topped with sugar). The area is still famous for its "Chelsea China" ware, though the works, the Chelsea porcelain factory ? thought to be the first workshop to make porcelain in England ? were sold in 1769, and moved to Derby. Examples of the original Chelsea ware fetch high values.